Reconnecting in Dayton

by Ivan Snyder

The major delight at any year's convention is reconnecting with
fellow members in our group--and also forging new friendships.
The names we read in the bundle now have faces, and the
personalities we have noted in journals are enhanced as we
interact personally. So it was truly a pleasure for those who
attended to meet with members whom they had "known" for some time
via correspondence. For me, this began as soon as I entered the
Marriott Courtyard Hotel in Dayton, Ohio.

The interaction continued Thursday evening at the Hibachi Grill
and Supreme Buffet in nearby Kettering. Members of the National
Amateur Press Association (NAPA) joined with us, and 26 of us
honored the tradition begun in the early 1980s by longtime AAPA
stalwart Charlie Bush. Back at the hotel, with appetites
satisfied, there was a welcome in the third floor Hospitality
Suite with chatting, tales of members we have known in past years,
reviewing photos of past conventions, and looking over journals.

The convention proper started for the AAPA at 8:30 Friday
morning in the Flyers Room. After introductory remarks by
president Susan Petrone, each person in attendance had a chance to
offer an introduction, including whatever information he or she
wanted to give. In keeping with the AAPA By-Laws, which state
that "the convention may transact no official business," the
reports given were only informational. Susan began by thanking
each one for sharing their weekend with the group. She also
thanked the AAPA for entrusting the group to her leadership in
last year's election. Her first goal, she stated--somewhat
"tongue in cheek"--was to keep from damaging the association. But
further, she would like to increase activity and the fun we can
have together as a group, participating in our hobby, amateur
journalism. She would like to increase online participation among
members who do not own printing equipment, those who are no longer
able to or interested in operating printing equipment, and those
who just like to use computers to have fun in amateur journalism,
whether or not they have access to printing. After Susan's
remarks, secretary-treasurer Ivan Snyder, the only other officer
present, gave a brief report concerning membership statistics and
our financial status.

The subject of possibilities for next year's convention was
brought up. Susan is open to receiving bids from members willing
to host the 2013 event. So think about it!

After a short break, both AAPA and NAPA members gathered in the
convention room for a very interesting demonstration of an easy
method of bookbinding, led by Columbus, Ohio member Bob Tauber,
Book Arts Specialist at the Ohio State University Libraries'
Center for Book Arts & Logan Elm Press. Bob was capably
assisted by Jim Patterson, also of Columbus. Each one present was
given materials for a book: paper components cut to size, and
binding thread; needles, wax, scissors, and bone folders were also
provided for the hands-on demonstration. Bob showed each step of
the folding, sewing, and assembly; so that at the end of the
session, each one had a small bound booklet.

Friday afternoon's joint session began with a report from Tom
Parson regarding the status of the Graham-Wesson collection.
There is quite a history of how The Fossils came to be in
possession of that collection; the late Stan Oliner, of Denver,
Colorado had received it, and had begun to analyze the extent of
the collection. It included the Wessons' massive collection of
amateur journals--both bound and loose; the four boxes of 3x5
index cards from the late Victor Moitoret, and his father Tony
Moitoret before him; the collection of Lone Scouts journals; and
Oliner's own collection. Upon Oliner's death, Tom Parson offered
to continue organizing the collection, since he also lives in
Denver. There are quite a few unresolved issues Tom is having to
figure out with what little information he has. Tom has inherited
an enormous task, and is hard at work cataloguing everything in
such a way that information will be available by journal,
publisher, organization (NAPA, AAPA, UAPAA, etc.), by city and
state where published, etc. If members have questions regarding
specific journals, Tom is willing to try to find answers;
questions may be addressed to librarian@amateurpress.org. Please
understand that the work of organization is just beginning, and it
may be some time before some information is available.

Tom's report was an appropriate lead-in to the next subject of
discussion: how AAPA and NAPA can coöperate in the promotion of
amateur journalism. Tom's ongoing work in cataloguing the vast
collection, supported by AAPA, NAPA, and The Fossils, is an
outstanding example of intergroup coöperation. NAPA president
Alice Brosey led the group discussion. Some of the ideas brought
up included the integration of online blogs as part of ajay
endeavors, since blogs are the present-day manifestation of the
amateur journals published--often by young people--during the 20th
century. The fact was raised that one advantage of publishing a
blog online is that it eliminates the need to turn out 200 or 300
copies of a journal, which can be a formidable task on a hand
press. This led to mention that some publishers in the past have
used limited mailings; they privately mailed their journals to
other members whose journals they had received, thus not having to
produce a lot of copies to members who are not evidencing much
interest in the hobby; but then hope was expressed that the work
involved in privately mailing journals might lead to the
conclusion that maybe the bundles are the easiest way, after all.
Another point brought up was the possibility that writing,
printing, and publishing could tend to be a lone effort. Instead
of a lot of lone publishers sending something for the bundle, this
should be a community of likeminded individuals together pursuing
a common hobby. Communication with those whose efforts appear in
the bundle, and attending conventions or local gatherings, could
foster a spirit of togetherness and stimulate a deeper interest in
participating.

No final conclusion was reached, and the assembly was dismissed
amid thanks to Tom Parson for the work he is doing with the
Graham-Wesson collection.

The auction was scheduled for 7:00 to 10:00 p.m.; actual start
and end times were a few minutes after what was scheduled.
Auctioneer George Hamilton went through several tables full of
items that had been donated. Member Stan Pekala had printed bags
stating that "I bought all this wonderful stuff at the AAPA/NAPA
Auction Friday, July 27, 2012 - Dayton, O.," and each bid winner
was given a bag (or bags) in which to carry off the loot. Some
items generated vigorous competition among bidders; however a
great number of journals were purchased at super-bargain prices,
partly because the volume of them precluded extracting what they
should be worth. Also on the auction block were books, type
cases, and cuts.

Following the auction, a number of members retreated to the
hospitality suite. There, West Virginia member Mark McComas was
sketching caricatures of anyone who wanted one, for a donation to
be split between AAPA and NAPA.

The first activity for Saturday was the visit to the National
Museum of the U. S. Air Force. This museum is housed in a vast
facility, and numerous airplanes were on exhibit. Those who were
on the tour of the museum lunched there, after which the combined
members of the AAPA and NAPA assembled in the meeting room to view
a demonstration of the LetterMPress app for iPads and Macs. John
Bonadies (the owner of Bonadies Creative, Inc.), Molly Poganski,
and Jeff Adams (who happens to be the cousin of our president,
Susan Petrone) gave this amazing presentation. LetterMPress is a
"virtual letterpress" app. Fonts of wood type are displayed on
the top of the screen of an iPad, from which the user can select
the type face preferred. It looks totally authentic, with actual
photos of the type itself. Having selected the type face, the
user can "drag" the individual letters down to the bed of a
Vandercook cylinder press--again, an actual photo of a Vandercook.
After assembling the type on the bed (and hearing the same clicks
and clacks you would hear while setting the type up on a real
press bed), you can select the paper you want, then the ink--even
mixing inks, if you so desire. When all is ready, you give the
cylinder a little shove (actually a little swipe on the screen of
the iPad), and watch the cylinder go rolling over the paper,
pressing it against the inked type. And the finished broadside
comes flying up to your view! Connect with a printer and you can
even print your broadside!

Members of the two groups began assembling in the hotel lobby
at 5:30 p.m. for the social hour, followed by a group photo
shortly after 6:00. After the photo, the door into the meeting
room (which had been transformed into the banquet room) was open,
and members filed in and began sitting at the tables. After a
tasty meal, George Hamilton, a member of AAPA's Laureate
Committee, announced the 2012 Laureate Awards, then Michelle
Klosterman and Alice Brosey presented the Laureate Awards for
NAPA.

The speaker for the banquet was Alex Heckman, the Director of
Education and Museum Operations at Dayton History at Carillon
Park. Heckman's speech took in aspects of Dayton's history, the
Wright Brothers' printing endeavors, and their subsequent flight
achievements.

At the end of the banquet, NAPA president Alice Brosey
officially pronounced the NAPA convention closed, followed by AAPA
president Susan Petrone's official pronouncement of the end of the
AAPA convention.